1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to devices, systems, and methods for actuating one or more degrees of freedom.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the control of physical systems, actuators are often used to transform a control signal into a desired mechanical output. Typically, an actuator comprises a transducer, which transforms the control signal into a mechanical force or displacement, and a means of coupling the mechanical output of the transducer to the appropriate body. In many cases, it is desired to control more than one degree of freedom (DOF) and so one actuator—and, therefore, one transducer—is required for each controlled DOF.
Various transduction mechanisms exist for transforming a (often electrical) control signal into a mechanical output. In many cases, the transduction mechanism incurs the most cost for an actuator. For example, an electromagnetic transducer often relies on relatively heavy and expensive copper, iron, and magnets to accomplish transduction. Piezoelectric transducers, also, can incur high material costs and often require relatively expensive and sophisticated high-voltage driver electronics. It would thus be advantageous to actuate multiple DOFs using a single transducer to reduce cost, weight, and complexity.
Various attempts (e.g. unidrive robots, robots using a single motor and a system of clutches to independently actuate multiple DOFs) have been made to accomplish multiple-DOF actuation using a single transducer, but they have often involved relatively complicated systems for distributing the mechanical output to the appropriate DOFs, the complexity of which has limited the benefits obtained from eliminating additional transducers.
Accordingly, there is a need for new devices, systems, and procedures for simply and reliably actuating multiple DOFs using a single transducer.
The following application seeks to solve the problems stated.